Long Live the Reckless and the Brave
by musicstar5
Summary: What if the competition never happened, and all the teens knew each other from high school? Follow the lives of these teens and some teachers as they take on the high school life.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I've wanted to do one of these stories for awhile. I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. Now, the whole updating situation I'll have to work on, cause I don't update my stories as often as I should, maybe once a week. I'll attempt to update two or three times a week. Also, every character will be featured in this, minus the 'little characters' such as Jasmine and Brady. You'll find out the grades each person is in in the first chapter. Not everyone will have a line in this chapter, but whoever didn't in this chapter (minus B) will have one next chapter.**

**So, let's start, shall we?(:**

**Disclaimer- I do not own TD.**

* * *

Wawanakwa High school was in a little town in Toronto. Only a little over a thousand went to the school. Since the school was small, not much happened that was over-dramatic and newsworthy. Sure, there were fights and secrets and drama- there was in every high school. But Wawanakwa High was never made the news for anything bad.

That is, until this year.

The year started like any other one- new freshman, the new seniors cheering about being the school's top dogs, students meeting with their friend and lovers again, the teachers yelling at the kids for random acts.

Senior Duncan Smith walked down the hallway, his arm around his girlfriend and fellow senior Gwen Rogers. The two had been together for nearly two years, and even though there had been many things going around that they cheated on each other, they remained happy together.

Little did they know, they BOTH have had secret relationships. Duncan constantly made out and sometimes 'did it' with senior Courtney Meadows, and Gwen had spent a lot of her summer with senior Trent Lockman, and they ended up locking lips by the end of the summer. They didn't tell each other about the other person- they were happy together, and drama was the last thing they needed, especially in their senior year.

"So pasty," Duncan started, and Gwen smirked at the nickname. It made sense- she was a goth and had super pale skin. "Who would've thought we would've made it to senior year?"

"Got that right. I thought you would've been kicked out by now, for all the cruel things you do to those poor teachers," Gwen joked.

"Hey, if I never did any of those pranks, I'd be at the bottom of the food chain, kinda like guitar boy," Duncan said.

"Trent's not so bad. He's pretty cool actually," Gwen said.

"He's so overrated. Yeah, he's a guitar player, but I'm a lead singer of a band," Duncan said.

"FORMER lead singer," Gwen corrected. Duncan's band had broken up over the summer, much to his disappointment. Three out of the four members were arrested in Ontario, for underage drinking after a show. Duncan was the only one who (surprisingly) took no part in that.

"Yeah... wait. I have an idea to make our senior year a bit more fun. Where's Elvis at?" Duncan wondered, and the two walked faster down the hallway.

At the other end of the school, Freshman Harold McGrady, Mike Pierce, Ezekiel Harley, and Sam Johnson walked into the school. The three had been close friends since the sixth grade, and shared a love for video games.

"This is it. We're here. These four years will be life changing eh," Ezekiel said.

"You're right Zeke. We're finally men! Men meet womem. Booyah," Harold said.

"This reminds me of level thirteen of Tomb Digger, when they reach that big building and have to blow it up to move on," Sam said.

"How? We're not blowing up anything, right?" Mike asked.

"No. The building was the first one of the game. This is the first real building we've ever been into," Sam said.

"What, middle school and Gamer's Extreme don't count?" Harold scoffed. The four walked down the hallway, when they heard someone pounding a locker. The four looked around, and saw no one near there. They heard the pounding again, and Mike realized it was from the inside of a locker. He opened it. A short and scrawny kid fell out.

"Dude, you okay?" Mike asked, helping the kid up.

"Yeah. I've been homeschooled my whole life. Apparently the jocks found that out and used it against me," He said.

"Oh. Well, I'm Mike, and the other three are Harold, Ezekiel, and Sam. We're freshman," Mike said.

"You too? Good! I'm Cameron. Can you show me around? I have no idea what a school is like," Cameron said.

"We're still finding our way around ourselves, but feel free to join us eh," Ezekiel said. The four started walking again in silence, until Sam spoke up.

"So Cameron, do you like video games?"

The five freshman nerds walked past a group of jocks- Juniors Lightning Star, Tyler Jordans, Alejandro Burromuerto, and DJ Adams, and senior Justin Rodriguez. The five were the stars of the football team, with Justin being the quarterback for his second year in a row.

"How's your girlfriend Tyler?" Alejandro asked.

"She's fine... in every way possible," Tyler replied. Everyone minus DJ hi-fived each other.

"Sha-Lightning like the sound of that! Are her friends single?" Lightning asked. Lightning was the oddball of the group. He talked in third person and added 'Sha' in front of everything he said. No one knew what the 'Sha' meant, and no one asked.

"I'm not sure," Tyler replied. Lightning, Tyler, Justin, and Alejandro were all players with the ladies, while DJ liked an actual relationship. DJ was always nice to everyone, and the football team started taking advantage of it last year.

"DJ, can you get Heather, Lindsay, and Dakota over here? They'd probably snap our heads off if we interrupted their girl talks, and they'd probably take it easier with you," Justin said. DJ nodded, and walked off to get them.

Heather Williams, Lindsay Simms, and Dakota Sturm were cheerleaders- Heather was captain while Dakota was co-captain. The three were more frenemies than friends- they understood each other and their motives, but didn't get along much.

"Hey Heather, hey Lindsay, hey Dakota," DJ said, coming up to the three. They turned around. The two (minus Lindsay) thought the majority of the football players were pigs, but everyone liked DJ, even them.

"Hey Deeje," Dakota said with a smile.

"Lightning, Alejandro, and Justin want you," DJ said.

"Well, tell them to grow some balls and come over here... well, except Alejandro. If he comes over here, he won't have any balls," Heather said. The two had a thing sophmore year, which Heather constantly denied. She now 'hated him.'

"Will do," DJ said with a smile, and walked back over to his friends. Dakota closed her locker, and faced Heather and Lindsay.

"I feel so bad for him. He's like their toy," Dakota said.

"And he's bald," Lindsay said. Lindsay was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but got an A+ when it came to boys. Her lastest 'boy toy' was Tyler.

"Oh, you like him Dakota," Heather teased.

"As a friend! Deeje and I go back to preschool. He's always been nice. But high school changes that, and people take advantage of you. I think we need to toughen him up," Dakota said.

"YOU need to toughen him up. I have a cheer squad to take care of," Heather said, and walked away.

"Hey, I do too! Plus, daddy put me in an acting class so I can be on a Kardashian spinoff!" Dakota yelled.

"You have a softie to toughen up!" Heather replied without turning around. Dakota sighed, and turned around to face Lindsay, but found her sucking faces with Tyler. She rolled her eyes, and walked away.

Seniors Jo Softman and Brandon 'Brick' Hampton ran past Heather, earning them a string of profanity words from her. Jo and Brick had been competitors since Kidnergarten, and had no intention of stopping until one of them beat the other.

"I win!" Jo yelled as she got to the end of the hallway. Brick ran past her.

"No one said where we stop soldier!" Brick said. Brick's family had an army history- everyone but his grandmother and mother went into the army. He alwyas wanted to go into the army. But his passion to get back in because much stronger after his brother never came home. During that time, he was in ninth grade. That one day he found out, he was at school, and Jo actually acted more like a friend than a competitor.

"You've got a point commander," Jo muttered, and started running again. The two ran until they got to the end of the next hallway. They tied.

"I won that!" Jo argued.

"Ma'am, I'm informing you that you did not win, and I did," Brick replied.

"Keep dreaming soldier," Jo mimicked with a small smile. As the two grew older, they became friendly with each other, instead of just focusing on competition. The two often joked around with each other.

"So, have any plans yet for after high school?" Brick asked, sitting against the wall. Jo sat next to him.

"Not yet, I'll take it as it goes. You still up in the army grill?" Jo asked. Brick nodded.

"I'm gonna be there. I'm going to take on what my brother couldn't," Brick said, looking down. Jo patted his back. He looked back up after a minute. "You know, you should consider the army too," He said, throwing Jo off guard.

"Why?" Jo asked.

"You're strong. You'd be a good addition soldier," Brick said. Jo shrugged, and stood up.

"I've got to get to class. I'll race you to the cafeteria at lunch," Jo said, and walked off. Brick got up after she left.

Sophmore Sadie Ramsey paced around the hallway near her locker, waiting for her best friend, Katie Baer. Katie was never late for the first day, and was always with Sadie, so Sadie was a bit concerned. The two had been best friends since they were three, and decided on wearing the same thing and acting the same way. The only differences were that Katie was tan and Sadie was pale, and Katie was thinner than Sadie.

Lately, the two hadn't seen each other much- Sadie went to see her family for two weeks, and Katie had been busy with her own stuff. They still texted and taked on the phone with each other as much as they could. Today was their first day seeing each other in nearly a month. Sadie saw Katie walk down the hallway, and ran up to her.

"Katie!" Sadie squealed. Katie ran up to her best friend, and the two hugged.

"I swear you get thinner everytime I see you nowadays," Sadie pondered when the hug ended.

"You're just imagining things. Plus, we haven't hugged in nearly a month. New record!" Katie joked, and opened her locker to get her books out. Her and Sadie had every class together, except their elective- Katie took dance and Sadie opted for art.

"So how was your family reunion meeting thing?" Katie asked.

"It was good, but it would've been better if I had a BFFFL to talk to in person. Grandma didn't even come close to it," Sadie said, Katie let out a small laugh.

"I lighten up the mood everywhere I go," Katie said, shutting her locker.

"Why were you late this morning?" Sadie asked.

"My alarm went off late," Katie replied. Katie's alarm actually went off at 5AM- she needed to fit in a longer morning workout before returning to school. Just like many teenage girls, Katie wanted to lose weight. But it became an obsession a month before summer started. Katie convinced herself that it was normal, but still told no one about her weightloss plans.

"It's probably broken. Let's stop at the mall after school. Justin's working," Sadie said.

"I have a couple things to do at home first, but then we can meet up. The first place we're going to is where Justin works," Katie said. The two squealed and headed to class.

Katie and Sadie passed a group of friends sitting in an area outside the library- Sophmores Izzy Cloan, Sierra Danguish, Cody Anderson, Owen Evans, Noah Hartmann, and Eva Wilkinson. These six friends hanging out seemed unlikely- their personalites were the crazy, the stalker, the nerd, the over eater but loveable friend, the sarcastic bookworm, and the female sports guru- but they had been friends for awhile.

With growing up, things changed. Eva was determined on being an Olympian, Cody wanted to go to America for college, Sierra became obsessed with Cody, and Izzy became more insane but more to herself at the same time. Noah and Owen were the only ones who never really changed out of the group.

"Guess what? I saw a fish on the sidewalk outside my house this morning! It was blue and green. It wasn't moving, so I think it was dead. But isn't that cool?!" Izzy ranted.

"Yeah, a dead fish is the coolest thing ever," Noah sarcastically said, never looking up from the book he read. Izzy stuck her tounge out at him.

"I think it's cool Iz," Owen said. Owen had a crush on Izzy. The only one who knew was Noah. He said for Owen to not waste his time on a basketcase like Izzy, but he still chased after her.

"Thanks Big O! At least you care," Izzy said, saying the last part in a darker tone. Noah looked up from his book. He had never heard her use that tone with him. She was used to his sarcasm.

"I care, just not about the fish," Noah said.

"Well, the fish made me happy," Izzy argued back.

"Guys, stop it," Cody said.

"Oh Cody, you're so cute when you try to stop arguments," Sierra said. Cody shrunk away from Sierra, to where Owen could hide him.

"I need new friends," Eva muttered as she watched the five.

Wawanakwa High had a nature club. Freshman Zoey Sanders, Dawn Clyde, B Vermont, and Staci Gloat, Sophmores Beth Hours and Leshawna Riff, and Juniors Bridgette Lights and Geoff Hudson were in the club. Only a few members took it seriously though- Leshawna was in it for Beth since they were pretty much best friends, Geoff was in it for Bridgette since they were dating, Staci was in it to belong somewhere and to have someone to tell her tales to, and B was in it for Dawn since the two were basically inseperateable.

B and Dawn met in second grade. B was a mute- Dawn later figured out why he became mute- he said the wrong things to the wrong people growing up. The two took an interest in each other, and had been friends ever since.

"So, I'm new to this whole club thing. What do we do?" Zoey asked.

"I could tell by your auora you were nervous. Anyways, you basically show up, do what you need to do, and tada," Dawn said, who sat on B's lap. Zoey nodded in understandance.

"Meetings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Bridgette and Geoff, making out is not an excuse to be late," Beth said. The two blushed. "Now-"

"Girl, we'll take care of this in the meeting! Come on, let's go find a snack before class," Leshawna said. Her and Beth left, followed by Dawn and B. Staci chased after them.

"My great great great great great uncle invented class!" She said. Zoey snickered at the girl with all the tales, until she heard spraying. She looked over and saw a tan girl spraying nearly a whole can of hairspray in her hair. Once the bottle was empty, the girl threw it on the ground. Zoey gasped.

"Hey, pick that up!" Zoey yelled at the girl. She turned around.

"You tawlking t'me?" The girl said, with a Jersey accent. Zoey could tell this wasn't going to be easy to deal with.

"Yes. You know, hairspray and littering are bad for the enviroment," Zoey said. Geoff and Bridgette watched the two argue.

"Oh, we have a nahture freak. Pawfect," The girl replied.

"Just who do you think you are?!" Zoey snapped.

"The name's Anne Maria. I'm from America, so back off... eh," Anne Maria said with a smirk. She kicked the hairspray can down the hall. "Oh, and the hairdye ya use is prolly worse for the enviroment," Anne Maria mimicked before walking off the other way. Zoey looked furious as she went to throw the hairspray bottle away. Bridgette and Geoff walked off as the small feud ended.

"And why are you in this club again?" Geoff asked.

"The enviroment is living, so I think it needs to be treated like a human," Bridgette said.

"So does that mean I can't walk on the grass? Or we can't make out on the grass?" Geoff asked. Bridgette smirked.

"Well-"

"Geoff!" Someone yelled. Walking their way was Junior Scott Ruby. Geoff gave Bridgette a sympathetic look.

"It'll be a minute," Geoff said, pecking Bridgette on the lips before walking up to Scott. Scott was one of the bad boys in school. Geoff was on his good side though, because Scott gave Geoff the 'goods' for his parties. Geoff's parents worked all night, so Geoff had parties most nights.

"Scott, dude! You got the goods?" Geoff asked.

"Sure do. But these goods are getting harder to get. I have a way for ya to pay though," Scott said.

"Which is...?" Geoff asked cautiously.

"I wanna sleep with your surfer girlfriend," Scott said casually. Geoff's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Dude! She's my girlfriend! She's NOT sleeping with anyone else by me!" Geoff whisper-snapped.

"Fine. It'll be free this time. But mark my words Hudson, I'll do it with your girlfriend one day. I've had sex with nearly every girl at this school, and she's not being left out. I'll bring everything over at six," Scott said, and walked off. Geoff looked furious, but put a smile on his face before returning to his girlfriend.

* * *

**A/N- I think I got everyone, except for our teachers and principal. Don't judge me on my Anne Maria's Jersey typing. I'm not a Jersey person. Anywho, we have conflicts and storylines arising! I'm almost postive the next chapter will be shorter, since this was an intro chapter.**

**Whose storyline do you think will be the most interesting at the moment? Whose storyline do you want to see more of? Which character do you want to see more of? **

**And before anyone asks, NONE of these pairings are stone solid. I can tell you Gidgette won't last the whole story, because it's highly unlikely for a high school relationship to go for a long time. Also, no requesting ships. I'll do them as I go.**

**Favorite? Alert? REVIEW? Tell me how my first High School story chapter was! Love ya my readers.**

**~Musicstar5**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Hey. People liked this. I love you all. I was working on selling my grandma's house, so hence the late update. BUT I'M HERE NOW. And imma update this and Party Loving more. :D **

**So, this chapter will not focus on everyone, but only 1/3 of the people more or less depending on how I divide it out. Also, every chapter takes place a week after the last one, unless I say otherwise. Chapter two... let's go :D**

**Disclaimer- None is mine.**

* * *

Courtney Meadows stormed down the hallway, into the principal's office. Courtney was highly upset, since some students vandalized her senior class president posters. She would NOT let them get away with it. Courtney stormed into the guidance office, and made her way into the principal's office. She opened the door.

"Mr. McLean!" Courtney screeched. Chris McLean, the school principal, spun his chair around to view Courtney. Although Chris was the principal, you probably wouldn't guess it if the internet didn't exist- he had shaggy brown hair, wore a raggy button-up shirt with khaki shorts and sandals, and was always on the phone with friends or on an online-dating website.

"Courtney, sit down bra! How was your first week of senior year?" Chris asked. Courtney didn't sit.

"Some students vandalized my campaign posters. They drew mustaches and wrote curse words and drew graphic pictures! You can't let them get away with it!" Courtney said.

"Court, chill. They just got back from their break, and are suffering from I-swear-it's-still-summer itis. They'll relax soon," Chris said. Courtney looked at Chris, then rolled her eyes.

"Fine. If you won't do anything about it, I will!" Courtney snapped, and walked out of the office. Chris just shook his head at the girl, and went back to his computer.

* * *

Trent Lockman sat out in the courtyard of the school, playing his guitar. Trent was a musician, and had been since a very young age. He wanted to be a famous singer. He had actually gotten some calls from record labels interested in him. But at the time of those calls, he thought he was too young.

Now that Trent was going to be 18 in October, he thought that he's actually go after his passions. He decided to record a demo CD over the summer to send to some record labels. He hadn't sent them yet- he was afraid he'd get rejected. He knew he was good, but rejection was his greatest fear when it can to music. He felt that if was ever rejected in music, everything would be over. Music was his everything.

Jsut like many other high schoolers, Trent had his own secret- he struggled with depression. It started at a young age, after his grandfather died. When his grandfather died, a piece of Trent died too. While his parents worked, his grandfather would watch him. His parents were working much less now and were around more, but he still missed his grandfather greatly.

"Zooming out again?" A voice asked, interrupting Trent's thoughts. He turned around and saw Gwen smirking at him. Him and Gwen had a hookup at the end of the summer. It wasn't anything too major, since the two only kissed. Trent put his guitar down and motioned for Gwen to sit next to him. She did.

"Does Duncan know you're here?" Trent asked.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Gwen replied with a shrug. Trent nodded. "So, whatcha playing?"

"I'm playing around with some Nirvana tunes, seeing if I can get something and work with it," Trent replied.

'Well, Duncan was looking for you a few days ago," Gwen said.

"He was eh? What for?" Trent asked.

"He wants to put a band together again. Are you interested?" Gwen asked.

"Duncan and I aren't really friendly enough to be in a band together. Besides, I'm focusing on going solo right now," Trent replied.

"You two need to play nice," Gwen joked.

"I'll play nice when you realize that the kiss wasn't just because of being in the moment," Trent joked back. Gwen gave him a small laugh, playfully punched his arm, and stood up.

"Keep dreaming Slash," Gwen said with a smile, and walked away, Trent playfully shook his head, and picked up his guitar again.

* * *

After school, Zoey walked home. Her house was only ten minutes from the school. It'd be a waste of gas and more air pollution to drive that far everyday. So, for the sake of the enviroment, Zoey walked. She didn't mind it. The fresh air was nice and peaceful. It was all calm...' _wow, I need to stop hanging out with Dawn so much,'_ Zoey thought.

There was a lake she walked by on her way home. She had witnessed many things walking past that lake, from the first day she walked home in fifth grade, and now. Zoey paused, as she saw a boy jumping in the lake. Zoey grew worried when she didn't see him come back up a second later. She ran down the slope, throwing her backpack down somewhere in the process. She was about to jump in when the boy bounced back up again. He looked at Zoey, whose expression was a cross between relief and confusion.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Are you?" She replied. The boy nodded. "Good. Next question, why are you jumping into rivers?" Zoey asked him.

"I like swimming. It makes me feel powerful. I'm weird like that," The guy said with a small shrug.

"You're not weird, you're unique. I'm Zoey," Zoey said, putting her hand out for the guy to shake.

"Hey Zoey, I'm Mike," Mike said. He took her hand and shook it. He let go. "I've seen your around the highschool."

"Yeah. This hair isn't hard to miss," Zoey joked. Mike chucked.

"So, you're a freshman, right?" Mike asked, reaching into his book bag to pull out a towel.

"Yeah. I take it you are too?" Zoey asked. Mike nodded, as he attempted to dry his torso off. It was hard, considering he kept his shirt on. "Um, you should probably take your shirt off. It'd be easier to dry yourself off," She suggested. Mike paused.

"Not right now. I will when I get home, which is where I should be going. It was nice to meet you Zoey. See you around!" Mike said, picking up his bag and running off. Zoey looked at the boy, confused on why he ran off so fast.

* * *

Elsewhere, Izzy stepped into her house after chasing Eva home. Eva nearly killed her when she got to her house, but Izzy left with an evil-sounding laugh before Eva could. She knew Eva would yell at her about it in the morning.

Once Izzy walked in, her dog jumped onto her leg. Izzy was the one who was the happiest when her mother brought home the dog. She named the dog Swirly Blue, SB for short, because swirls and blue were what she was obsessed with that day.

"SB, sit!" Izzy said, and the dog listened. She laughed at him as her younger brother walked into the room.

"Hey Crazy Carly," He said. Izzy's family always had nicknames for her, and she loved them. Her brother's were a bit more offensive, but it was fine with her.

"Where's mom and dad? I wanna tell them about me chasing Eva home! You wanna hear it? Well-"

"Mom and dad went to get dinner. They wanted me to make sure you got your medication," Her brother said quickly, trying to stop Izzy from talking about another one of her adventures, or so she called them.

"Yeah, this morning," Izzy said, walking past him and into her room. She shut the door and locked it, then plopped down onto her bed. She pulled out her laptop from under her pillow, and opened the top.

Izzy was this happy but insane person, but like every other high school student, she had a wall up. Sure, she acted like her crazy self, but she kept things hidden- like the fact she was bipolar. She hated it, but if she took her medicine, she would be fine. The thing was, Izzy couldn't stand medicine. She thought it felt weird when she had to swallow the pill, and she didn't feel like everyone else when she took medicine.

All Izzy wanted to do was feel like she was this normal crazy girl without a problem. So, when she was at school, she put everything in the back of her mind and acted like the insane person everyone knew her as. She knew she couldn't hide it much longer, but the longer she could, the better off everything was. She sighed, pushing those thoughts into the back of her head, and payed attention to her laptop.

* * *

The next day at school, Heather and Dakota walked down the hallway to take down the cheerleading tryout list. They thought Lindsay was somewhere making out with Tyler, so they didn't even bother asking her to follow them. The two knew cheerleading tryouts were coming up, and the coach asked the three to cover it. Heather and Dakota both knew it was just going to be the two of them doing it. The two looked at the list.

"So, any early cuts?" Heather asked, sitting down by her locker. Dakota followed.

"Katie and Sadie. If we split them in auditions they'd be sobbing. Plus, Katie is a stick and Sadie is a bear," Dakota replied.

"Agreed," Heather said, crossing out their names.

"How about Beth? She could never pull off the popular look," Dakota said.

"No, keep her. We could use her," Heather said.

"How? Have you ever SEEN Beth?" Dakota asked, then leaned closer to Heather. "She's hideous!"

"Yeah, but she could be a useful tool! Since Lindsay found her screw up screw buddy, we've been down a person. We need someone else, someone with no brains and no idea what's going on! If we get Beth, we have that third person again," Heather said. Dakota paused.

"Are you SURE it has to be her? I mean, it could be the thinner of the annoying twin duo, or some freshman kid," Dakota said.

"Beth wants to be popular, and she swoons over Justin every chance she gets. We can convince her she'll get those two things, and she's our tool!" Heather replied.

"Okay, fine. I still don't fully approve of this though. So is she automatically on the squad?" Dakota asked.

"Yeah. You'll get over it and see I'm right," Heather replied.

"Oh, and how many times have you said that before?" Dakota challenged. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Let's remember who was named captain and who wasn't," Heather said. Dakota stood up.

"You were only named captain cause one of the stupid paparazzi daddy sent to take pictures of me messed up my backflip!" Dakota snapped. Heather stood up too, right in front of Dakota.

"No, it's because I was better than you. Besides, you messed up the camera shot with your horrible backflip," Heather snapped back.

"You did NOT just say that!" Dakota said, getting into Heather's face.

"Sure did. Whatcha gonna do about it?" Heather snapped back. Dakota reached over to smack her in the face, but was pulled back by a teacher.

"Now Dakota, we can't have our co-captain suspended for hitting someone. Wait to take the anger out in practice!" Baineley, the cheerleading coach, said. Blaineley was older, but never admitted it. She wore cheap makeup and tight dresses to make herself look younger, but it backfired the majority of the time.

"Whatever. Just get her away from me. She's crazy," Heather snapped, and walked off. A moment passed, and Blaineley let go of Dakota. Dakota walked off to the bathroom. Once she was in there, she made sure no one else was in the restroom, and looked at herself in the mirror.

"You're better than that lying rich show-off bitch. You're prettier and more talented and you're gonna get out of Canada one day. Keep your head up," Dakota muttered to herself. She fixed her hair and makeup before leaving the restroom.

* * *

Later that day, Harold, Ezekiel, Sam, Mike, and Cameron walked down the hallway. All of them minus Ezekiel ended up having a lot of classes together, since they were all advanced students. Ezekiel wasn't as smart as the others, so he had stayed in the normal level classes. He didn't mind- less classwork from easier classes meant more video games.

There was one problem with the group of friends- Cameron. In the past week, Cameron had shown off the fact he was a genius. He threw out random facts in conversations- what the first video game was, when the first xbox was invented... he wouldn't stop talking about facts, and it was starting to annoy the others.

"So Mike, we heard Zoey talking about you today," Sam said.

"What did she say?" Mike asked.

"Well, she said you jumped into a lake when the two of you bumped into each other," Harold replied.

"Oh man, she told you that?" Mike said.

"I mean, I know you switch personalities and do characters and stuff, but what are you doing jumping into lakes, eh?" Ezekiel asked.

"Long story. But it's not important. What is is that... crap! That's Zoey!" Mike said, and turned into the other hallway. Zoey was at her locker, putting books inside it. She saw the other four, and shut her locker quickly. Zoey walked up to the four others.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mike anywhere?" Zoey asked.

"Why?" Harold replied.

"Oh, I bumped into him yesterday and he acted strange when he left. I wanted to make sure he was okay," Zoey explained.

"Well he's not here right now," Sam said. A look of disappointment crossed Zoey's face.

"Okay. Well, if you find him, tell him I need to talk to him. Thanks," Zoey said before going off in the other direction. Mike appeared again when she was gone.

"I'm not understanding why you're hiding from her. What happened?" Cameron asked.

"Things just got awkward yesterday, we'll leave it at that," Mike replied.

"Oh, did she see you naked?" Ezekiel asked. The four others looked at him.

"No. Nowhere close," Mike replied before walking off.

"What, eh? It gets awkward when people see me naked," Ezekiel said. Sam shook his head and Cameron looked at Ezekiel in confusion before the two walked off.

"I feel ya dude," Harold said, and put a hand on Ezekiel's shoulder. Ezekiel shrugged the hand off and walked off. Harold followed.

* * *

**A/N- Forgive me, for I have written the last section of this chapter at 3 in the morning. OH, speaking of that... right now it is August 28th, 3:30 A.M. Automatic Loveletter fans will understand me.(;**

**And all the dramatic storylines are starting up. Don't worry, it won't be all 'This character has this and this character has that' every chapter. These are intro chapters, and not every character will have something wrong with them. But it's highschool, so we'll have many dramatic storylines.**

**So the next third of characters will be focused on in the next chapter. Who do you want that to be? I have a few I know I will write for- Katie, Noah, and Brick. Anyone else you guys REALLY wanna see next chapter? Put it in a review!**

**So, read, review, request, alert! Haha well I ruined the R pattern... yeah I don't think my 3:30 AM humor is funny either.**

**~Musicstar5**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- I am a horrible updater, and I'm not even in school currently. I just really haven't been motivated to write lately. But whatever. Hopefully you guys like this chapter. I really don't have much to say in this author's note, so let's get to the story!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything.**

* * *

_Beep, beep, beep, be-_

Katie turned the alarm clock off, and looked at the time- 5AM. She sat in bed for a minute, stretched, and walked to the bathroom. After doing her business, she pulled out the scale that sat under the sink, so her mother wouldn't find it. Laying it down on the bathroom floor, she stepped on it, then waited a minute to look down at the number.

_97.6_

Sure it was low, but it wasn't low enough for Katie. Katie liked it as she watched the numbers fall- from a healthy 124.8, to a somewhat healthy 112.1, to a small 105.3, to a tiny 99.4, to the number that was there now. She always smiled as the numbers fell- to her, that meant she was doing something right.

Katie wasn't sure how it started for her- innocent intentions was the reason she went with. Or maybe it was because everyone called her a Sadie clone- and nothing personal to her best female friend for life, but Sadie was a bit overweight... well, maybe not a bit, but Katie loved Sadie like a sister, so she respected her and tried not to talk bad about her.

Sure, it was dumb reason, but Katie didn't think it was. Besides, with everything she had lost, she was nearly guaranteed a spot on the cheerleading squad this year. Katie had always been dancing and cheering. But after not making the squad last year, she became determined to make the team this year.

And determined she was.

Katie slipped on a pair of yoga pants and a baggy tank top, then headed downstairs to the workout room her parents put in earlier last year. Luckily for her, her parent's room wasn't by the workout room, so they wouldn't hear the machines beep and run. Katie went over to the treadmill, set it up, and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Fat," Katie muttered. She sighed, and got on the treadmill.

* * *

At school, Noah sat at the corner table in the library. The library was his getaway from all the idiots and dumb people he was forced to spend 7 hours a day with. Thank goodness for the friends he had that weren't that- AKA, Cody. Cody was sane, while his other friends had their things- Eva was scary, Owen ate 24/7, Sierra obsessed over cody, and Izzy was plain insane. But he liked them all. Maybe not Sierra as much, but she'd never go away, so he got used to her.

Minus Sierra, all of them were like siblings to him. He never had any siblings, so having friends this close to him was as close as he would get to that. Owen was like a little brother- naïve, happy about everything, and still a kid at heart. Eva was like a big sister- scary, bossy, and got it her way the majority of the time. Cody was like a big brother, with him being really smart- the only thing that didn't make him big brother worthy was the fact he was 4'9 and dressed like a ten year told. Izzy was like a little sister- insane and had to be watched wherever she went.

Noah was always the one who offered to look after Izzy when it needed to be done. He had known her the longest out of the group of friends, and was the closest with her. He knew a lot about her- she changed her dogs name everyday, she adored Christmas because green and red were her favorite colors, and she had a baby sister who died at birth, just to name a few things. Izzy also knew a lot about Noah- His parents were never home, he read a lot because he felt alone, and his middle name was actually Noah. No one knew his first name, and no one besides Izzy knew Noah was his middle name. He just always went by Noah.

His first name was his real father's name, and he left the family when Noah was four. Ever since then, Noah went by Noah. His family addressed him as Noah. No one ever called him by his first name anymore. And Noah liked things that way.

Noah kept his face inside his book, ignoring the gossip talking some junior cheerleaders were doing and any teachers talking and trying to be funny. He sat in the corner table, and felt like he was in his bedroom- quiet and alone. Well, that is, until Owen found him.

"Noah buddy!" Owen said. Noah rolled his eyes and looked up from the book.

"Yeah?" Noah asked, annoyed.

"I've been looking for you all morning! Why are you here? It's so quiet," Owen practically shouted.

"Not now," Noah muttered, and put his book down.

"Come on buddy! Let's go meet with everyone else! They're all wondering where you are," Owen said.

"It shocks me that you're not there drooling over Izzy," Noah said, sighing as he put a bookmark in the book and shut it.

"She's not here yet," Owen pouted. Noah looked up at Owen this time, actually listening to what he said.

"She's always here first. Did she wander off somewhere?" Noah asked.

"We've all looked around, she's not here," Owen replied.

"Well, this is very un-Izzy like," Noah said, grabbing his bookbag and standing up.

"Maybe she's sick. But I don't want my Izzy to be sick. I can't let that happen!" Owen said, charging out the door. Noah rolled his eyes at the big guy, and walked out of the library to follow Owen.

* * *

Once Justin got to school, he walked up to his usual football buddies- Alejandro and Lighting. DJ usually joined them, but was over talking to a couple of cheerleaders.

"He'll never hook up with them. He's too nice," Justin said.

"You're right amigo. The girls that are worth the hookups don't like softies like DJ," Alejandro replied.

"Sha-Lightning agrees with you. Someone needs to toughen him up!" Lightning said.

"Toughen who up?" DJ asked the three. The three turned around, startled by DJ.

"Oh, just some freshman kid," Justin lied. The other two nodded.

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna go to the workout room before class. Need to muscle up for the next football game," DJ said, and headed to the gym. The three watched him walk away.

"Well, at least he cares about his muscles," Lighting said.

"Every football player should care about muscles. They're his lady charmer," Justin said, and held his up. A couple of girls walked by, and gave Justin a smile.

"Si amigo, and DJ has muscles. But he doesn't have the popular act down. He's too nice, that's the thing we've all been saying from the start," Alejandro said.

"What do we do then?" Lightning asked.

"Well, I talked to Dakota a few days ago, and she's going to try to toughen him up some. If he's too soft, then he won't get through his last years in high school," Alejandro replied.

"Any other ideas? We all know how Dakota can be with promises," Justin said.

"Sha-Lightning has one! Every time he acts nice, we make him run up and down the football field at practice. Maybe he'll get the message then," Lightning said.

"I like that. Plus, it'd be fun to see him go through that," Justin said, and the three snickered.

"Let's start this practice," Alejandro said, and the two others nodded in agreement.

* * *

After school, Brick headed over to the place no one knew he went, but he loved, and learned so much more about the military life- the local library. No one he was close to knew he went there. It was his own little secret. He would head there after school, find a new book about the military, sit in the very back corner, and leave with it three hours later, returning the book to the library the next day and the cycle repeated.

Today, he got a military sniper's autobiography. He sat down at his normal table and opened the book. About ten minutes into it, he sat the book down and stretched. He looked around, and froze when he turned to his right. The window that was there showed Jo right outside it, talking to Eva, a friend of both of them and Jo's gym buddy. He quickly got up, taking the book with him, and moved to the other corner.

If Jo found out he went to the library, he wouldn't hear the end of it. The two went at each other enough as it was, and Jo finding out about Brick's freetime activity was just something she could use against him. She always called the library people 'nerds with no chance at love.'

But he thought that it was the opposite. Smart people had the careers, right? And smart people had money. Many woman are attracted to money. So, there really wasn't anything wrong with reading. But according to Jo, there was.

He tried not to care what Jo thought, but he did. Jo was someone he had known since childhood, and the two had going against one another since kindergarten. His father had taught him that when there was competition, you work to him it.

So, he had to win anything Jo tried to do with him. It was in his 'code.' And, if he didn't win anything with Jo, how in the hell was he going to compete in the army?

His brother didn't like competing, and he didn't make it home. Brick HAD to compete, for the sake of the army, his brother, and himself. He wanted to make his family proud with the army, and if he couldn't win anything Jo and him went at together, how was he going to make his family proud?

He looked back out the window, to see if Jo had left, and she did. Sighing in relief, he had headed back to the table he sat at, and continued his book.

* * *

The next day at school, Cody walked out of his math class with a pass to the restroom. On his way there, he bumped into Sierra.

"Crap," He quietly muttered.

"Oh, hey Cody! Whatcha doing here? You're supposed to be in Mr. Wilkins class, room 208, which is the other way!" Sierra said with a smile. Cody and Sierra were friends, but Sierra had a crush on him, a MAJOR crush. She knew where he lived, what his classes were and at what times, where he was at lunch, and his first hiding spot, where he had gone to hide from Sierra. But since she found that, he had found a new one, and it had been a miracle she hadn't found that yet.

"I've got a restroom pass," Cody said, trying to walk past her.

"Oh, me too! I was gonna go to the cleaner one down here, but I can walk with you!" Sierra said. Cody looked at Sierra for a minute, sighed, and started to walk. Sierra was right next to him.

"So, are you busy tonight?" Sierra asked.

"I planned to play video games with Noah and Owen tonight," Cody replied.

"Oh," Sierra said, and stopped talking for a minute. Her face lit back up. "Oh! Why don't we do something right now?"

"I have to use the restroom and get back to class," Cody said.

"Come on! Remember that time in eighth grade when the six of us ditched sixth period? Why can't we do that now? You know, bring back the memories," Sierra said.

"It's a memory worth reliving when the six of us are together. Right now, it's the two of us," Cody replied, as they got to the restrooms.

"Come on!" If we do it, we can get everyone else to!" Sierra replied. Cody stopped walking. He DID enjoy the six hanging out, and since they entered high school, they hadn't hung out as much.

"Next period?" Cody asked. Sierra nodded, squealed, and hugged Cody.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Sierra said.

"Um, Sierra, can you let go of me? I really need to pee," Cody said.

"Oh! Yeah, right, me too," Sierra said, and let go of Cody.

"Let's meet up here after the bell rings," Cody said.

"Good with me! Bye Cody!" Sierra said with a laugh, and skipped inside the restroom. Cody sighed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Cody muttered.

* * *

B waited for Dawn by her locker, so the two could go to their nature club meeting together. It was Dawn's idea to join that club, and since B had nothing else to do and not many other people to hang out with, he agreed.

B was mute. He had been since the first grade. He had his reasons, one that he swore no one would find out- well, except for Dawn.

Dawn had this weird thing she did. She could read auras. He didn't know how she did it, maybe it was her mother. Her mother was very into nature, just like Dawn. Dawn and her mother loved the same thing and got along easily with each other. Whenever B was over, he watched the two, wishing he had that kind of relationship with his family.

His mother hadn't been home often, and his father was never around. B's mother would act stressed when she arrived home, and B would try to talk to her. She would either ignore him or yell at him. His grandmother found out about it when he was in first grade, and ever since then, he has lived with her and been a mute.

Sometimes, he wants to visit his mother, just to see if she is still the same person she was when his grandmother took him away. He wants to see if she had grey hair now, to see if she still wears the bracelet his father gave to her a day before he left, to see if she settled down with anyone, to see if she changed.

But his grandmother won't let him. She says his mother is a bad person, and he shouldn't go near her. But lately, that'll all he wants to do. That's been the only thing on his mind.

"Hey B!" Dawn said, interrupting his thoughts. He smiled at the small girl. Dawn opened her locker, set her books in, grabbed her bag, and shut it.

"Ready to go?" Dawn said. B nodded, and the two headed to their nature club.

* * *

**A/N- Alright, more people down, a little over 1/3 to go until I get everybody! Right now, I'm just trying to cover everyone's backstory, so after the next chapter, things ill get a bit more interesting. I'll have a chance to update more, since I stopped writing Party Loving. So expect faster updates!**

**Read and review and hopefully I have the next chapter up within the next week!**

**~musicstar5**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Happy New Year, here is a chapter that should've been posted forever ago. ****This chapter should conclude the intros, and I'll put in some cliffhangers I left off last chapter somewhere.**

**I apologize for the bad updating again. I just got done moving, and I start school here soon and I had a cause of writer's block, but I will try to update once a week. I need to get better at this :P**

**I've decided to make every chapter a school week in length, as in everything you read will happen in one school week. I'm not sure if I said that, but if I did, this is a reminder :D Story timeeeee.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing.**

* * *

Lindsay had been given the task to post the final cheerleading list. She stood in front of the wall the list was about to be taped to, smiled at all the girls looking at her wanting to know their fates, then posted the list. She backed away from the list so the others could look. Almost every girl in that hallway ran up to the list.

Lindsay memorized all the faces as the girls read the list and their high school fates- she noticed everything from the disappointment on Sadie's face, to the bitter scowl on Leshawna's, to the satisfied smirk on Courtney's. But there was one face she wasn't going to forget.

Beth's.

Lindsay had always been friendly with Beth, even if the two never talked. Lindsay always smiled at the sophomore girl... Lindsay always smiled at everyone, but for some reason, she smiled at Beth much more. Maybe it was because Beth didn't have many people to talk to, or because Beth smiled back. Beth had braces and the braces always shined and sometimes they'd even sparkle if the sun was in the way.

Beth approached Lindsay, beaming from cheek to cheek. Lindsay smiled at the small girl.

"Is this a joke? Please please please tell me it isn't," Beth said.

"Nope! Congrats!" Lindsay said. Beth squealed, and started jumping around.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Beth said, hugging the other girl. Lindsay, taken by surprise, returned the hug. Beth pulled apart from her.

"Thank you again!" Beth said.

"No problem Beth!" Lindsay said. Beth skipped off.

The two things off about that scenario right there? One, Lindsay got someone's name right. And two, a light shade of red had taken over Lindsay's cheeks.

* * *

Eva, Izzy, and Noah walked in the hallways together, after the bell had rung. Izzy had been telling some tall tale of her brother forming a duck's face when he slept.

"I've seen it! It's pretty cool. I mean, it's not normal, but-"

"Your whole family isn't normal," Noah replied. Izzy shot him a glare, but it went away in the next second.

"Have you been around Staci too much?" Eva asked.

"I like Staci! But I think she lies about what she says sometimes," Izzy said.

"No, really?" Noah sarcastically said, as the three stopped by his classroom.

"I'm not sure. If she doesn't, she has a big family," Izzy said, causing a small laugh out of Eva.

"Well, as much as I would like to hear another of your tales, I have class," Noah said, walking into the classroom. Eva and Izzy walked off.

"What are you doing this period?" Izzy asked.

"Going to the gym," Eva replied.

"Can I go too?! I'd rather be with you than go to a class. Yuck," Izzy said. Eva smirked at the redhead.

Izzy and Eva had always been close. They had grown up in the same neighborhood. At the park that was in the middle of the neighborhood, Eva had always bench-lifted (literally bench-lifted. She lifted each bench as if they were weights.) and Izzy had always been by the monkey bars. The two had become friends after Izzy fell off the bars and Eva ended up catching her.

"Iz, go to class. You'll get in trouble for skipping," Eva said.

"But you're skipping," Izzy pointed out. Eva shrugged.

"I can threaten them to get me out of trouble. You, on the other hand, have a record with the school for skipping," Eva said. Izzy sighed.

"Okay. Let's catch up later," Izzy said, skipping down the hallway. Eva smiled at the silence that fell down the hallway, and headed down to the weight room.

Eva expected peace, but saw Jo and a couple other people. She went to the elliptical next to Jo's.

"Whatcha doing in here?" Jo asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You never come down here during class," Eva replied. Jo shrugged.

"Came to get my mind off of stuff," Jo said, slowing down.

"Like that Brick guy?" Eva asked.

"A few weeks ago, he said I'd be good for the army, and I haven't gotten that thought out of my head since," Jo said.

"Then go," Eva said, not looking at Jo.

"It's The army. I really don't want to die," Jo said. Eva stopped, then looked at Jo.

"Look, Brick said that for a reason. He thinks you''re good enough, and if we''re being honest, I think you would be one hell of an addition into the army," Eva said.

"I''ll think about it. And thanks Eva," Jo said.

"As stupid as this sounds, us tough girls got to stick together," Eva said.

"You''re right, that did sound stupid," Jo said. Eva punched Jo' s arm.

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette walked down the street hand in hand after the school day ended. The two were headed to Geoff's house for the daily after school makeout session.

"Are you sure your parents aren't home? Last time you said they weren't, they were and I had to spend dinner with them with them all staring at me like I was an alien," Bridgette said.

"Bra, they only did that 'cause you're a vegan, and they're not used to that," Geoff said.

"But didn't you say you turned into a vegan?" Bridgette said. Geoff paused.

"Um, I'm sure they're not home, they both had to work and my bros and sisters are out. We'll be by ourselves," Geoff said, going behind Bridgette to wrap his arms around her. She smiled.

The two arrived to his house. Geoff reached into his pocket to grab his key, but a voice made him pause.

"Geoffy boy, how ya doing?" Scott said. Bridgette and Geoff looked to their right, seeing Scott staring at them behind the fence. Scott was Geoff's neighbor, and constantly interrupted the two when they hung outside in his yard.

"Hey Scott," Geoff said through gritted teeth, and went back to unlocking the door.

"Hey Geoff, I hate to bother the graphic scene that's about to happen inside, but can I talk to you for a second?" Scott said, a smirk on his face. Geoff rolled his eyes.

"I'll be inside in a minute," He told Bridgette as he opened the door. Bridgette nodded and walked inside, closing the door. Geoff walked up to Scott.

"What?" He snapped.

"So, when are you paying for the goods?" Scott asked.

"Let me get this through your redneck head- you are NOT sleeping with my girlfriend. Ever," Geoff said quietly.

"Are we sure about that? I can tell everyone you're a fraud. I can tell them I'm the one who gets everything to you for your dumb parties. You get all the credit, but that can change in just one minute," Scott snapped.

"I have some deets on you. You say a word, and they all come out, one by one," Geoff growled, and went back inside. Scott rolled his eyes and sighed.

Geoff went inside, to see Bridgette standing by the front window. She looked worried.

"Everything is okay," Geoff said, causing Bridgette to look relieved.

"Good. Let' s go upstairs," Bridgette said. She took Geoff' s hand and the pair went upstairs.

* * *

Later the next day, Beth and Leshawna chatted about the cheer team. Beth was telling Leshawna about her making the cheer team, while Leshawna was still fuming over the fact she didn't make it.

"I have the moves! They just don't appreciate talent like mine," Leshawna said.

"I think you're talented!" Beth said.

"Thanks Beth. Those Malibu Barbie wannabees don't know nothin'," Leshawna said.

"They cut you too?" Someone said. The two turned around, and saw Anne Maria opening the locker next to Leshawna's.

"What did they cut you for?" Leshawna asked her.

"I'm da new girl. Plus, dey said my poof was too big! Theirs was too small, dat was da problem," Anne Maria said. Leshawna looked at the girl for a minute in confusion.

"Where are you from, America? Learn to pronounce words!" Leshawna snapped.

"I AM from America, New Jersey! Sorry I can't be a Canadian dork like all of you," Anne Maria spat back.

"You wanna go at it?" Leshawna asked, dropping her bag.

"Bring it, us Americans know how t'fight," Anne Maria replied.

"Oooooh, you're gonna get it! Beth, take my earrings," Leshawna said, taking her silver hoops out.

"Stop! This is pointless!" Beth said.

"She called me a dork," Leshawna said.

"So?! Neither of you should be calling each other names, or making fun of accents! Get along!" Beth yelled. The two other girls looked at her, then each other.

"Sorry for callin' you a dork," Anne Maria mumbled.

"Sorry for making fun of America," Leshawna said.

"Cool, now everything's good. Let's go to class Leshawna, and I'll tell you about my new uniform," Beth said.

"Actually, I have to stop somewhere first. Meet ya there?" Leshawna asked. Beth shrugged, then walked off. Anne Maria looked at Leshawna.

"You really don't have to be anywhere, do you?" Anne Maria asked.

"Nope. I don't wanna hear about her uniform or the cheer squad or anything about that," Leshawna replied.

"I hear ya," Anne Maria said, as the two started walking.

* * *

Duncan walked into the empty music room after school, and sat down on a stool. He picked up a guitar that was next to him, and started strumming. After five minutes, he heard a knock at the door, which interrupted him. Duncan looked up to see Trent.

"Can I help you Elvis?" Duncan asked.

"Can I have my guitar back?" Trent asked Duncan, looking at the guitar Duncan was holding. Duncan shrugged, and gave it back to him.

"So, what were you playing?" Trent asked. Duncan shrugged.

"Just some original stuff I've had in mind for awhile... why are you talking to me?" Duncan asked.

"Well, you had my guitar, and Gwen said you were looking for me a couple weeks ago," Trent replied.

"Oh. Well since you're here, let' s talk," Duncan said. Trent sat down.

What' s up?" Trent asked.

"Well, everyone but me in my band was arrested . so I'm bandless at the moment. I wondered if you were interested in starting up a band with me," Duncan explained.

"Don't you hate me or something? Besides, I want a solo career," Trent said.

I don't hate you, I just don't like you as much as the next guy. And come on bro, we're seniors. We need to leave a mark at the school, and we can' t do it alone. At least think about it?" Duncan said. Trent paused for a minute.

"Kay, I'll think about it, if you do something for me," Trent said.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"Hang out with me this weekend. If you wanna bring Gwen, go ahead. Just come over to my place, we can talk music," Trent said.

"You got yourself a deal. Text Gwen the address and I'll be there, " Duncan said, then shook Trent' s hand and walked out the room.

* * *

DJ walked home after football practice ended. He was a bit tired, since the guys started making him run up and down the field five times during practice. They said it would make him a better player, so he did it.**  
**

He turned down a street that lead into the city part of the town. He kept on walking until he reached a small bakery. He looked inside, then walked in.

"Mama, I' m home," DJ said, going to the storage room to put down his bag on his mattress.

DJ' s father walked out on the two when DJ was eleven. His father hadn't helped with anything ever since, including money. Ever since then, DJ helped Mama work at the bakery. They were forced to move out of the apartment they lived in, since they couldn't afford it. They lived in the storage room of the bakery since then.

"DJ honey, is that you?" Mama asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah," DJ replied and walked into the kitchen.

"Good. Come give Mama a hand in the kitchen," Mama said. DO put on an apron and walked over to Mama.

"What do you need me to do Mama?" DJ asked.

"Ice the cupcakes. The store reopens in under an hour," Mama said. DJ went over to the cupcakes and picked up the icing tube, but Mama stopped in.

"DJ, is that smell from you? Child, I raised you better than walking into the kitchen smellin' like you just ran 20 miles! What did you do today?" Mama asked.

"I ran a little extra at practice today," DJ replied.

"Did them friends of yours make you? I knew they were no good," Mama said.

"It makes me a better player. If I'm gonna get a scholarship, I gotta be the best" DJ replied.

"Well go clean yourself up. No one wants to buy Mama's food with that smell around," Mama said.

"I still would," DJ said, taking off the apron. Mama gave him a smile.

"Go clean up child," Mama said. DJ smiled, then went down to the little bathroom in the storage room.

* * *

**A/N- I'm still debating on making Lindsay's storyline the way I put it or not, if you know what it is. Like I said in the first chapter, nothing is set in stone. There are a few characters that I have no idea what to give them as a storyline yet (Staci is the main one.), but I'll find something. I also just got this awesome idea for DJ, it just won' t happen till later. Anyone I didn't cover in these few chapters will have a minor role right now and will be covered later.**

**Quick question- Do you guys like the 'guessing who has what storyline' game? If not, do you want me to make the next chapter a brief sum up of the characters and their storylines?**

**A real quick off topic thing, does anyone remember how only a few people shipped Nizzy and now a whole bunch of people do? It's awesome.**

**Back on topic. So, now we know what's going on mainly. The good stuff will be here next chapter. I start school tomorrow, so I' 'll try to write and publish the next long chapter in a week or two. Read and review everyone(:**

**~musicstar5**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- GUYS I HAD THIS WRITTEN OUT IN MY NOTEBOOK ALONG WITH THREE OTHER CHAPTERS AND THE NOTEBOOK DISAPPEARED. So I had to rewrite it by memory. This is all real, not a lame and fake excuse.**

**Did I write for Ezekiel? I can't remember if I did or didn't. Oh well, I'll just do it this chapter. And now I will answer reviews.**

**Guest- More Zoke coming your way! I will have Noah start falling for one of those two, and if any of you know me well enough, you know which one.(;**

**Everyone else, cause I am too lazy to type out individual comments- Thanks, and yay for the Nizzy shippers.**

**Lez do dis thang... awkwardness.**

**Disclaimer- I own the kindle I am typing this on. Holla.**

* * *

It was the first day of cheer practice since the new team was set up. There were five rows, four girls in each of them. Dakota and Heather were the only ones not in a row, since they were captain and co captain. Ever since the two argued in the hallway, they made separate changes to the final list. Heather added Katie, Dakota added a sophomore named Tessa and crossed out Beth, then Heather crossed out Tessa and put Beth back on.

"Lindsay and Beth to the front of your rows! Beth, you're too short to be in the back, and Lindsay, you know what you're doing and so you need to guide your row," Dakota said. The two moved to the front.

"_You_ need to be in the back," Heather muttered. Dakota heard her though, and shot her a glare. The girls saw the glare and stopped warming up, expecting the two to have some kind of fight. Heather saw the girls stop.

"I never said to stop warming up!" Heather snapped. The twenty girls went back to stretching, as Heather walked up to Dakota, who was helping a junior.

"Dakota, you really need to be harder on these girls. For example, if this girl was made for the team, she could help herself. So, you're cut," Heather told the girl. The girl stood there surprised for a minute, then stormed off the grassy area they were practicing in.

"Great! Now we're short a girl!" Dakota said.

"No we're not. I decided I don't need a co-captain, since you do such a crappy job with it," Heather said.

"You can't do that," Dakota growled.

"I just did. Now go into the lines and listen to me," Heather said.

"We have to get Blaineley's approval first and you didn't, therefore I am still a co-captain," Dakota said.

"Um, wrong. I am captain, I get the call, and I say that you're done with being co-captain. Now, get into the line," Heather said. Dakota gave heather an intense stare, before slapping her face. The other cheerleaders stopped what they were doing and gasped at Dakota, surprised that someone was willing to slap the queen bee. Dakota had started to walk out, until Heather pushed her down from behind.

"Hey!" Dakota said, and pushed Heather's legs, causing her to fall to the ground. Heather stood right back up, her face made up of pure anger. Dakota attempted to stand back up, only to be pushed down again by Heather.

"Who in the hell do you think you are!? You DO NOT mess with me. I own you, I own this whole damn squad! You're nothing but an accessory Dakota, nothing but a stupid daddy's girl. You're lucky we're already short a girl, cause if we weren't, you'd be off my squad in a heartbeat, bitch," Heather snapped. Dakota sat on the ground for a minute, stunned, then ran off as fast as she could. Heather had a satisfying smirk on her face. The other cheerleaders had watched Dakota run off, a couple in particular watching where she went.

Dakota ran until she got to the locker room. She sat down by her locker, and held her knees up to her chest. In a matter of a minute, her breathing had turned into gasps, her sitting had turned into rocking and shaking, and a lightheaded feeling and chest pain were added with the embarrassment and anger she was feeling. After a couple minutes, she had relaxed, and started breathing normally again. She slowly stood back up, and went over to the mirror in the corner of the room. She wiped away the tear and sweat running down her face, fixed her hair and makeup, and then putting on the confident face she always wore before grabbing her bag and leaving.

Little did Dakota know, one of the cheerleaders had watched her little panic attack happen.

* * *

Tuesday morning, Cody ran into school late. He headed for his locker, only to see Sierra standing there. He jumped back a little in surprise, but not as much as he used to.

Ever since he had skipped class with Sierra a couple weeks ago, he felt like she was less insane as she came off to be. But for the past few days, he felt her insane meter jump back up. She somehow knew where he was at every minute of the day and was there before him, except in his bedroom. Thank goodness she hadn't stooped that low again.

"Hey Sierra," Cody said awkwardly.

"Hi Cody," Sierra said, a certain excitement to her voice. He looked around for a moment, trying to concentrate on anything that wasn't Sierra. He walked up to his locker, and opened it.

"So, I was thinking that maybe me and you could ditch class again. I mean, you're late already, so why bother going?" Sierra asked.

"I have stuff to learn Sierra," Cody replied.

"Well, I could teach you. We both know who would be the better teacher," Sierra said, a smirk on her face. Cody took a few steps back from her.

"You don't know the material as well as she does," Cody said, closing his locker.

"I could learn it better!" Sierra said.

"That's the point of going to class Sierra," Cody said, and started making his way down the hallway. Sierra ran in front of him again, causing Cody to stop.

"Why are you avoiding me again?" Sierra pouted.

"No I'm not," Cody said fast.

"Then why won't you skip class with me?" Sierra asked.

"Because I need to-"

"SKIP WITH ME CODY!" Sierra yelled. Cody backed up a bit.

"O-Okay," Cody said, kind of scared. Sierra smiled.

"Good! I know where we can go," Sierra said, saying the last part quietly. Cody did not have a good feeling about this.

* * *

Courtney got ready for the school president election, which was happening next week. She was in an English classroom, and it was after school so not many other people would be there. She put her index cards down, attempting to memorize the things she wanted to say.

"I will be the best senior class president this school has ever had. While adding some fun into the year, I will make sure education comes first. I will make sure that every test score will increase, and-" Courtney stopped, after hearing music from down the hallway. She knew the music room was down the hallway, but she didn't think anyone was in there. She walked down to the room, and opened the door. Duncan, Gwen, and Trent were in there. Duncan was by the mic and had a guitar, Trent had a guitar, and Gwen was behind the drum set.

"This is a closed practice," Gwen said once she saw Courtney. The two didn't like each other, especially since Gwen knew how much time Duncan and Courtney spent together.

"Well, I'm busy practicing for my speech. I'd appreciate it if you'd quiet down," Courtney replied.

"Princess, it's an instrument. This is as quiet as it gets," Duncan said. Gwen's nose wrinkled at the word 'princess'.

"I don't care, I want you to quiet down. I have important work to do! This is the most important moment of my senior year, and if it's not perfect, it's your fault," Courtney said.

"Well, this is for the class president election too. We're playing after the election ends, at the party for the winner. It's gonna be our first performance together," Trent threw in.

"What?! First off, I did not approve of you playing at my party! And second, when did you even become a band?" Courtney snapped.

"We thought it a couple weeks ago, and it became official last week," Duncan replied.

"Well, I still don't want you playing!" Courtney said. Gwen got up from behind the drum set.

"No one said you were going to win, and even if you were, we're still playing. Get over it, Princess," Gwen said, sneering the word 'princess'.

"Stop getting your gothic panties in a twist. I am going to win. You're just jealous that I'm smarter than you," Courtney replied. Trent and Duncan looked at each other, then back at the two fighting girls.

"You're smarter than me in the books. I'm smarter than you in life. I think we both know which is more important," Gwen said.

"Yeah? We'll see who's talking after I win the election!" Courtney said, then stormed out of the room. She slammed the door, and the three others in the room looked at each other.

"What was that about? I didn't know you two hated each other that much," Duncan said.

"She's always hated me, I've always hated her. Difference is, I make sure she knows it and remembers it," Gwen said.

"Well, whatever. Any chick fight is okay with me," Duncan said.

Actually, Duncan was panicking a bit on the inside. He dated Gwen and had flings with Courtney every once in awhile. He was afraid he'd be used as an insult by one of them and the one would fire back with him being the subject. If that happened, it wouldn't end pretty.

"We've got a lot to do. Let's get back to rehearsing," Trent said, interrupting Duncan's thoughts. Gwen went back behind her drumset, and the other two went back to their positions.

"And a 1, 2 3, 4!"

* * *

After school Friday, Cameron, Harold, and Ezekiel were all at Sam's house playing video games. It was something the group did every Friday night. But this time, there was a difference- Cameron was in place of Mike.

Cameron had become a close friend to the group, so he had started hanging out with them much more. But ever since Mike had met Zoey, he had grown apart from the guys. He even skipped video game night to hang out with Zoey, or so the guys thought.

"It's so quiet in here without Mike's sounds. What does he call them, characters?" Sam asked.

"I can make 'em if you want me too, eh," Ezekiel said.

"We're good," Harold said quickly.

"Whatever, it's your loss eh," Ezekiel replied, and the four went back to their video games.

"According to my calculations, if Sam and Harold go left and right about 10 feet, and Ezekiel and I stay put, we'd hit the enemy directly, and win the level," Cameron said, and stopped moving his character.

"Cameron bro, video games are about winning, not thinking. We take the lucky guesses and go from there," Sam said.

"Well, there"s a better chance of winning if you know what you're going to do," Cameron pointed out.

"You gotta risk it, that's the whole point Cameron," Sam said, still indulged in the game. Cameron gave up on trying to convince the others and went back to the game.

"It's weird no'ot seeng Mike's character here, eh," Ezekiel said.

"He has a girlfriend to hang out with. He'd rather have a girl than his bros," Harold said.

"Don't you fancy Leshawna?" Cameron pointed out.

"That's different, I don't ditch guy's night. And I don't "fancy her". I'm head over heels in love with her, gosh!" Harold said.

"It's the same thing dude," Sam said.

"Mike's probably already planning the wedding. He talks about her nonstop," Ezekiel said.

"Well with him and all this characters, it's sure going to be an eventful wedding," Sam said.

"What's with that anyways? I've never seen anyone do that," Cameron asked.

"It's something he's done since I met him. I bet it's acting stuff. But he isn't going to get an acting job with doing random characters at random times, especially the old person one. Chester I think?" Harold said.

"I don't kno'ow. There's a lot he does and it's getting hard to keep up with, eh," Ezekiel said.

"Imagine him having more though. Maybe a boyfriend for Sevlanta," Sam said.

"I can picture that now. Sevlanta, Sevlanta, catch me!" Harold acted out. The others laugh, and the four guys paused their video games.

"Maybe a neighbor for Chester- 'Get off my lawn you crazy kid!''Never Chester, neveeer!'" Cameron said, and the four guys laughed.

"Imagine if he gets a girlfriend for Veto, or Vato, or Voto... what was it called again?" Sam asked.

"Vito," A voice said from the door. The four guys looked and saw Mike. Their faces paled.

"Hey Mike," Cameron said.

"Do you guys always make fun of me like this?" Mike asked quietly.

"Do you always skip guys night?" Sam shot back.

"I didn't skip it! I had a doctor's appointment and came back here as soon as I could!" Mike said.

"What for, a teeth whitening for each of your characters?" Sam asked. Mike looked down and the three others looked at Sam.

"No, to work on being treated for my characters," Mike muttered. This didn't go unheard.

"What do you mean by 'treated', eh?" Ezekiel asked.

"Not like it matters to you, you'd just make fun of me more," Mike said.

"Look, we were mad about you skipping guy's night, and things got carried away. I'm sorry dude," Harold said. A chorus of 'me too' and 'same here' came from the other three.

"It doesn't matter. If you're going to make fun of me because I'm different, then we shouldn't be called friends," Mike said, before walking away. The four watched him walk off, heard the front door slam, and waited until they were sure he was gone.

"Nice going Sam," Harold snapped.

"I wonder what he meant by 'treated'. Cameron, anything you can think of?" Sam asked.

"There's many different things he could've meant. We're all going to have to ask him about it tomorrow," Cameron said.

"I don't know if he'll talk to us. We were pretty crappy to him," Sam said, picking up his controller.

"Why are yo'ou playing video games now, eh?" Ezekiel asked.

"Video games are my alcohol and drugs- they take my mind off of bad situations," Sam responded before pressing play.

* * *

**A/N- I say we rename this chapter 'So Close', cause close was all it was :P**

**Rant time- Have you ever wanted to slap someone because the title of their fanfic? I'm not gonna say who, but there's someone in the TDI category whose story title i find completely offensive and I'm really surprised no one has said anything about it. Rant over.**

**NEXT CHAPTER! We will have some Katie and Sadie, some NoCo friendship, and we'll find out who was the cheerleader that saw Dakota's panic attack. It wont be someone you expect, any guesses? Review loves!(:**

**~musicstar5**


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